News

NYT’s Wordle to become a TV game show

Published

3 months ago

May 11, 2026

Preport

The New York Times is betting that the Wordle craze isn’t over yet. On Monday, the Times announced that it would be turning the hit mobile word game into a televised game show on NBC.

“Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie will host the affair, while The Times and “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon will both serve as production partners. Guthrie and Fallon announced the news on the 8:00 AM broadcast of the “Today” show on Monday, where they shared that the game show had been in development for the past two-and-a-half years.

The show, which will begin airing on NBC next year, is being described as “fast-paced” and a “great family game.” That sounds a bit different from the mobile game, which often requires long periods of thought where users work through the possible choices.

This will be the first time that The Times has collaborated with a TV broadcaster for an entertainment-based program, representing yet another shift in the media company’s pivot to build a sustainable digital subscription business as print revenue continues to decline.

Wordle began its life as a popular online word puzzle game after being released in October 2021 by Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn. In January of the following year, The NYT acquired the title for its growing games business, almost immediately bringing “tens of millions” of new users to the New York Times. As of last year, NYT Games says that users played more than 11 billion puzzles across all its games over the course of the year, up from 8 billion in 2023.

NBC will start shooting episodes of the game show this summer and is currently looking for contestants.

Business

Police Arrest of Five Suspected Telecommunication Vandals, Recovery of Truckload of Suspected Stolen Iron Rods

Published

3 minutes ago

August 23, 2026

Preport

BY SUNDAY SAMUEL—The Lagos State Police Command has arrested five (5) suspected telecommunication vandals and recovered a truckload of suspected stolen iron rods in the Ibeju-Lekki axis of the State, as part of its intensified efforts to curb the vandalism and theft of critical infrastructure across Lagos.

The suspects, namely Mohammed Shaibu, ‘m’, 26 years; Musa Zakari, ‘m’, 29 years; Abdullahi Bala, ‘m’, 22 years; Salisu Musa, ‘m’, 18 years; and Yahuza Bala, ‘m’, 20 years, were allegedly caught stealing iron poles meant for the construction of telecommunication masts. They were subsequently arrested while conveying the allegedly stolen iron rods in a truck.

The suspects are currently in Police custody, while the case is being investigated at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Yaba. Discreet investigation is ongoing to apprehend other fleeing suspects and unravel the full extent of their activities.

The Command appreciates the 81 Division, Nigerian Army, for its robust synergy and cooperation, which contributed significantly to the successful operation and arrest of the suspects.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Tijani Fatai, psc, mnips, has reiterated the Command’s resolve to protect critical infrastructure and bring perpetrators of vandalism to justice. He also urged residents to promptly provide credible information on suspicious activities within their communities.

Members of the public are encouraged to report emergencies and suspicious activities through the Lagos State Police Command emergency lines: 07061019374, 08065154338, 08063299264, 08039344870, 08080193432 (Marine), and 09168630929.

The post Police Arrest of Five Suspected Telecommunication Vandals, Recovery of Truckload of Suspected Stolen Iron Rods appeared first on Business Today NG.

News

Who’s behind the new ‘stealth model’ Ox Alpha?

Published

6 minutes ago

August 23, 2026

Preport

A mysterious new AI model called Ox Alpha has driven certain corners of the internet into a frenzy of speculation about who actually built it.

The free model was released on OpenRouter on Thursday, where it was described as “a reasoning model designed for coding, sustained agentic work, and production workload.” On X, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison (whose company is acquiring OpenRouter) described Ox Alpha as “very impressive.”

So who’s actually behind Ox Alpha? The OpenRouter listing described it as a “stealth model” and said it was “developed and operated by a third-party provider who has chosen to remain anonymous during this preview.”

Unsurprisingly, much of the speculation has revolved around China. AI analyst Andrew Curran posted on Friday that the initial speculation focused on the GLM models developed by Chinese company Z.ai, but “this morning people seem less sure of anything.”

Similarly, an article on Wccftech first suggested that the evidence pointed to GLM, but an update suggested that Ox Alpha could be an unreleased version of Microsoft’s MAI. And on Reddit, there’s at least one post declaring that Ox Alpha “can’t be the Chinese,” while another expressed “high confidence” that it is, in fact, Chinese.